Getting a promotion is an exciting step in furthering your career. Whether you work in building construction, retail, the health care industry or hospitality, a promotion usually means more responsibility, potentially more hours and almost always, a more extensive paycheck. This can make getting a promotion a competitive task. You and your colleagues might all be fighting to climb up the corporate ladder, which can overwhelm the people in charge of making the decision of who gets the promotion. If you are all equally as good as each other, choosing one to promote can be exhausting. Here are a few of our top tips for making sure you stand out amongst your colleagues, so you are in front of mind when it comes time for your boss to pick someone to promote!
Advance Your Skills
Never underestimate the importance of furthering your skills. Actively seeking out tasks and projects that will help you develop new skills is highly recommended. Your boss will notice when you are trying to advance your skills, especially if you are the only one in your company willing to do so. There are several ways you can develop your skills: practising skills you already have in order to strengthen and solidify them, trying new things in order to develop new skills, and attending workshops specifically designed to teach you new skills. There are several courses and seminars around the country that you can undertake in your own time. For example, you could attend a senior management training course if you’re looking to be promoted to a senior role. These courses can be undertaken in the evenings, so they’re handy if you work full-time. There are also some courses offered online, which are great for today’s COVID-wary climate.
Think Outside the Box
When considering employees for a potential promotion, your boss will often think retrospectively about the people that have stood out with their brilliant ideas. This is where thinking outside the box can have a positive impact on your career development. When presented with a recurring challenge, your colleagues may lean towards the same solution that has worked in the past. This presents an opportunity for you to think outside the box and come up with a revolutionary solution that may prevent the issue from arising again. Alternatively, you may come up with new ideas to better the company, which may mean saving money, increasing revenue or increasing employee productivity. For example, if you work in construction, your boss may have one company that they always use to hire cranes. Here lies an opportunity for you to do your own research into alternative companies that also provide large crane hire, but may charge lower fees. This could end up saving your boss and your company money, resulting in increased profit! Your boss will surely notice the work you put into bettering the company, and it won’t be forgotten when it comes time to consider promotions.
Pay Attention to Details
Paying attention to details may be the difference between you and your colleague if you’re ever pinned against each other in the run for promotion. While your boss considers you both, if one of you has shown clear attention to detail while the other lets things fall through the cracks, it’s not hard to guess which one your boss will favour. For example, if you work for a refrigeration company, you and your colleague may both know the specs of the entire range. However, if you go a little deeper and also learn all of the details of the air compressor parts that are used to run the fridges, your colleague will be left in the dust when it comes to the level of knowledge you have! Similarly, if you work in construction, knowing all about the different types of cranes (such as bubble cranes, slab cranes and low loader cranes) may save you time and money when hiring the appropriate crane for your job. Where a colleague may hire the wrong crane, you can be sure that you know what you’re doing and can get the job done quickly and inexpensively! Another perk that your boss won’t soon forget.
Coaching and Mentoring Others
A great characteristic of a potential leader is the ability to coach and mentor their peers. Being able to teach your colleagues new skills without being condescending is a true skill that not everyone naturally possesses. However, it is a learnable skill if you feel you may need some help in this area. Similarly to leadership training, there are also courses you can undertake to learn how to improve your executive coaching skills. This means you can bring all your peers up to the same level of expertise (a win for your company) but still keeps you ahead of the rest because you are essentially the teacher! Authoritative figures recognise those who coach and mentor others properly (that is, professionally and without putting them down) and will keep them in mind when they are considering promotions. Being able to mentor those below you is a key skill when taking on a more senior role!
Conclusion
Getting a promotion at work is no easy feat, and is definitely worth celebrating when it is achieved. Being promoted does not simply mean a fatter paycheck, it means that someone saw potential in you, and believes you can help the company move forward. If you are looking for a promotion at work, but aren’t sure if you’re the front-runner, try implementing these tips in order to stand out from your colleagues in your bosses eyes. Remember, a promotion is always achievable if you are the right candidate. The challenge is making yourself the right candidate. There are so many different skills that are required and desired across a whole range of industries, so which skills you require for your specific job is up to you to find out. Whether you work for a construction company, an industrial air compressor manufacturer, a restaurant franchise or a boutique clothing store, you will need specific skills in order to be the one who gets promoted. Make sure you have these skills and refine them perfectly to make sure you are the best option within your company for the promotion.